About this role
Job description A Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (SKO 1352) in gesture-vocalization relations in song performance is available in connection with the research project, SongGesture: Co-singing gesture and vocal performance across three musical traditions , funded by the Research Council of Norway. The project is affiliated with RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at the University of Oslo (uio.no) . All RITMO researchers are co-located and work in a unique interdisciplinary constellation, with world-leading competence in musicology, psychology and informatics. It is expected that all members of the centre contribute to the general activities and collaborations within RITMO. The researchers have access to state-of-the-art facilities in sound/video recording, motion capture, eye tracking, physiological measurements, various types of brain imaging (EEG, fMRI), and rapid prototyping and robotics laboratories. Applicants are required to upload a Research outline (uio.no) , stating research questions and theoretical and methodological approaches that will further the goals of the project. The project description must present a feasible progress plan. It is expected that the applicant will be able to complete the project during the period of appointment. It is suggested that candidates should carefully read the Project website (uio.no) and details given below, in order to align their research plan appropriately. About the project The project, SongGesture, aims to significantly advance knowledge on how expert vocalists use gesture in support of their performance goals. Building on recent research showing an effect of gesture on co-occurring vocalization, SongGesture will advance the theorization of gesture-vocalization relations in musical contexts by considering also the physical interactions between gesture and vocal production movements (e.g., breathing and articulation). The project looks at co-singing gesturing practices in three different vocal performance traditions: beatboxing, European art song, and karnatak vocal music from South India. The candidate is not expected to have previous experience with these musical traditions, as this is covered by other project personnel. The successful candidate for this position is expected to investigate multimodal correspondence between gesture, vocalization and vocal production movements through computational analysis and to explore the implications of the results for multimodal sense-making (how different modalities combine to create meaning). Tasks will include contributing to project theory and methods development for the analysis of multimodal communication in song performance; audio feature extraction; pose tracking from video and preparation of kinematic time-series data; dataset preparation; manual annotation of audiovisual data; pattern finding; computational multimodal analysis (including time series analysis); data visualization; exploration of multimodal sense-making; and co-writing articles. About the position The position is available for a period of 3 years. There is a 10% component of the position devoted to teaching and administrative duties. Given additional funding, the position may be extended to 4 years, with a 25 % duty component. This would depend on the qualifications of the recruited candidate, the department’s needs for teaching, and the centre’s need for assistance. The successful candidate is expected to become part of the research environment and contribute to its development. The main purpose of postdoctoral research fellowships is to qualify researchers for work in higher academic positions within their disciplines. A career plan shall be developed for the Postdoctoral Fellow, specifying the competencies the Postdoctoral Fellow should acquire. UiO is responsible for following up on the career plan and ensuring that the Postdoctoral Fellow has access to career guidance throughout the postdoctoral term. If the Postdoctoral Fellow does not already have educational qualifications that meet the requirements for an associate professor position, UiO shall facilitate the acquisition of such competence during the employment period. Selection criteria Mandatory requirements PhD or equivalent academic qualifications with a specialization in fields such as gesture studies, computational musicology, cognitive science, informatics, data science, cognitive semiotics, linguistics, psychology, or other related fields. As this is an interdisciplinary project, the range of possible PhD qualifications is quite broad. However, the applicant is required to demonstrate that their degree corresponds to the profile of the post. Experience with several of the following: computational analysis of human movement and/or vocalization, time series analysis, pattern finding, statistical modelling, audio feature extraction, music information retrieval, machine learning, manual annotation of audio and video data, analysing and theorising sense-making (e.g., cognitive semiotics), dataset preparation, programming in R, Matlab or Python. Excellent skills in written and oral English. Personal suitability and motivation for the position. The doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the application deadline. Appointment will be dependent on the defence of the doctoral thesis. Requirements for the Research outline The candidate's research outline must align with and further the goals of the main project, focusing in particular on gesture-vocalization correspondence and its implications for sense-making. High scientific merit and innovation of the research outline Feasible research plan and outcomes What are we looking for in you? Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to successfully join in academic teamwork within and across disciplines Excellent time-management and ability to carry out the project within the allotted time frame Adaptability and willingness to contribute to a